Solid Snake is a fictional character from the Metal Gear series created by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami, appearing as the main protagonist in many of the games of the series. He is depicted as a former Green Beret and highly skilled special operations soldier engaged in solo stealth and espionage missions who is often tasked with destroying models of the bipedal nuclear weapon-armed mecha known as Metal Gear. Controlled by the player, he must act alone, supported via radio by commanding officers and specialists. While his first appearances in the original Metal Gear games were references to Hollywood films, the Metal Gear Solid series has given a consistent design by artist Yoji Shinkawa alongside an established personality while also exploring his relationship with his mentor and father.
The Solid Snake design created by Yoji Shinkawa for Metal Gear Solid is inspired by actors Jean-Claude Van Damme (pictured) and Christopher Walken.
Image: Hideo Kojima Tokyo Game Show 2011 (1) (cropped)
Image: Akio Otsuka 2018
Image: David Hayter 2006 09 21
Metal Gear is a franchise of stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, Metal Gear, was released in 1987 for MSX home computers. The player often takes control of a special forces operative, who is assigned the task of finding the titular superweapon, "Metal Gear", a bipedal walking tank with the ability to launch nuclear weapons.
From top to bottom: Big Boss, Liquid Snake, and Solid Snake, three central characters in the Metal Gear series, as drawn by Yoji Shinkawa
Hideo Kojima is the franchise's creator, and was involved in directing, designing, writing and producing the majority of installments in the main series until Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015).